today's seed planting

Feb 28, 2018 (indoors under lights) 
Cabbage, Red Express and Murdoc
Endive, Dubuisson
Parsley, Italian Large Flat Leaf
Flowers, Stock, Katz Lavender Blue

I just looked up when I’ve first heard red winged blackbirds around here in the spring over the past few years. I think it shows a trend:

2018 February 25
2016 March 5
2015 March 27
2009 April 9

spring red winged blackbirds

The red winged blackbirds are a full month early this year!!! I saw a small flock of 4 or so males at a nearby pond a few days ago and have been listening to them (cookalokooo) from my window today. We’re having the warmest February on record here. I don’t see much spring going on with the trees and bushes outside. but the birds are reflecting the warmth.

I’m tempted to plant peas now. My soil is workable. The old saying is to plant peas when the female red winged blackbirds arrive. I’ll prepare some soil and listen for the click click of the females replying to the males.

crazy February weather

Yesterday we had record breaking temperatures in the 70's here! I felt very excited and wanted to plant my gardens all at once. But, back to reality and this is the view this morning. Our typical February weather. Very pretty (but yesterday was really awesome).

hardening off seedlings

The seedlings for my winter tunnel have grown really fast. Time to start hardening them off. Today is sunny and 65F (!!) so they are outside on the patio sunning. I am enjoying the air and am working by the open door.





My plan is to harden them off for about a week before transplanting these seedlings into the tunnel soil. I'll leave them outside 3 hours today and then gradually longer until they are OK staying overnight in the tunnel. If it's not warm enough outside during the day, they can be in the covered tunnel for their hardening off time.

I opened up the winter tunnel to the air too. There are a few plants left in there (the mice left me a few). The soil is pretty dry. I'll have to bring a watering can down there this afternoon.

asparagus seedlings

My newly sprouted asparagus seedlings look just like tiny asparagus.

onions and celery seeds are planted!!

Yeah! This is my first big planting for my summer garden. I planted celery, celeriac, onions, bunching onions (scallions), leeks, and artichokes.  I also sowed some flower seeds: milkweed, aster, and chamomile. Here is the link to my 2018 planting list.

updates for our PlantIng Calendar Apps

An update for Skippy’s Vegetable Planting Calendar IPhone app will be out in the next few days. It will fix bugs including saving input frost dates and crops. Also vegetable planting information is updated. if you purchase the app now, you can use the update at no extra cost. Also anyone with the app already will be notified to download the update (no cost).

The Vegetable Planting App is here HERE. I’ll be using this app to start my onions and celery this week. Be sure to email me any comments or suggestions you have regarding the app.

Our Flower & Herb Planting App can be purchased through the same link above.

early seedlings

The planting season is starting up!!

I planted a bunch of greens to fill my winter tunnel since mice ruined my fall planting. I finished transplanting them today. They were growing 4 or 5 to a cell of a 6-pack, now they each have a cell to themselves. I hope to plant them out in the tunnel at the end of the month.

I started my regular garden planting a few days ago by planting a few asparagus seeds. They need to go in 13 weeks before the last frost. They are germinating (I hope) in a nice warm (78F) spot. My onions, scallion, leeks, celery, and celeriac will go in 11 weeks before the last frost - the week of February 16 (just over a week away!).

new varieties for this year!!

I have a lot of new varieties planned for this year. Why not be a bit adventuresome! Planning for fun in the garden takes my mind off of this winter. Not that it's a bad winter, but I really want to get back outside in the dirt. Some of these are new varieties of plants I've grown before. Some are whole new plants that I'm trying for the first time - like artichokes, celery, and cumin.

Artichoke, Tavor, only 95 days to harvest - I'll grow some for flowers too (High Mowing)
Asparagus, Mary Washington, very popular heirloom released in 1919 (David's Garden)
Beans, Marvel of Venice, yellow pole beans (Johnny's)
Beans, Haudenosaunee Skunk, dry pole bean (collected by and a gift of Roger Swain)
Beets, Boro, a new round red beet (Johnny's)
Broccoli, Blue Wind, extra early heads (Johnny's)
Carrot, Sugarsnax 54, long slender orange roots (Johnny's)
Carrot, Purple 68, deep purple roots for fall harvest (Johnny's)
Cauliflower, Snowball Y, an improved heirloom with self blanching heads (Burpee)
Celery, Tango, early maturing and self blanching (High Mowing Seeds)
Corn, Nothstine Dent, early maturing heirloom for sweet cornmeal and flour (Johnny's)
Cucumber, Max Pak, a new pickling variety with wide disease resistance (Johnny's)
Cumin, 120 days to seed (Burpee)
Eggplant, Orient Express, "the most dependable eggplant" (Johnny's)
Basil, Tuscany, big curly green leaves (Johnny's)
Lettuce, Crispino, iceberg (Johnny's)
Lettuce, Rouxai, beautiful red and green oakleaf (Johnny's)
Onion, Patterson, extremely long storage yellow (Johnny's)
Pepper, Highlander, Anaheim with earlier and longer fruits than Joe Parker (Johnny's)
Pepper, Red Rocket, cayenne 6" long and quick drying (Johnny's)
Squash, Flaminio, high-yielding Costata type zucchini (Johnny's)
Tomato, Pozzano, a hybrid San Marzano type for the greenhouse (Johnny's)
Tomato, Chef's Choice Orange, orange beefsteak AAS winner in 2013 (Johnny's)
Tomato, Martha Washington, "heirloom-quality" pink slicer, reliable hybrid (Johnny's)
Tomato, Taxi, heirloom early yellow slicer with baseball-sized fruit (Johnny's)

2018 planting list

I've started early with seed sowing this year since my winter tunnel was cleared out by a mouse (arrgh). I'll replant it in late February with early seedlings. This will be my link for my seed sowing list for the year.  

January 14, 2018 (planted indoors under lights for my winter tunnel)
Lettuce, Rhazes (red mini romaine)
Spinach, Emperor (semi savoy)
Escarole, Natacha (broad-leaved Batavian)

January 20, 2018 (planted indoors under lights for my winter tunnel)
Lettuce, Cherokee  (red summer crisp), Crispino (green iceberg), and Rouxai (red and green
     oakleaf)
Arugula (salad arugula)
Cabbage, Alcosa (green savoy)

February 3, 2018 (planted indoors under lights)
Asparagus, Mary Washington (green)

Feb 16, 2018 (I couldn't find milk bottles to winter sow outside, so I put the planted trays into the freezer)
Milkweed, Common wild (hand collected seed)
New England wild Small White Aster (hand collected seed)

Feb 16, 2018 (indoors under lights)
Onions: Patterson
Bunching onions: Nabechan
Leeks: Bandit and Giant Musselburg
Celery: Tango
Celeriac: Brilliant
Artichoke: Tavor

Feb 28, 2018 (indoors under lights) 
Cabbage: Red Express and Murdoc
Endive: Dubuisson
Parsley: Italian Large Flat Leaf
Flowers: Katz Lavender Blue Stock

March 2, 2018 (indoors under lights) 
Beets: Boro and Detroit Dark Red
Eggplants: Orient Express, Hansel, and Barbarella
Peppers: Highlander, Shishito, Ace, Red Rocket, and Red Ember
Herbs: Chamomile, Lemon Mint, and Basil Tuscany
Marigold: Judy's Giant African, Mission Giant Yellow, Tangerine Gem, Gem Mix, and Cottage
     Red
Snapdragon: Tall Deluxe Mix

March 16, 2018 (indoors under lights) 
Flowers: Tall Blue Planet Ageratum, Queen Mix Cleome, Royal Carpet Alyssum, Sweet
     Alyssum, Baby Blue Eyes, Dwarf Red Plains Coreopsis, Forget-Me-Nots, Halo Mix
     Hollyhocks, Laura Bush Petunia, Scarlet Sage, Purple Hyacinth Bean, Hopi Red Dye
     Amaranth, Florist Blue Boy Bachelor Buttons, Flashback Mix Calendula, Oopsi Daisy
     Calendula, and Benery's Giant Mix Zinnia
Herbs: Mammoth Sweet Basil, Creeping Thyme

March 20, 2018 (indoors under lights) 
Bok Choi: Mei Qing Choi
Broccoli: Bay Meadows, Blue Wind, Happy Rich, and Piracicaba
Cauliflower: Snowball Y and Little Cloud
Mustard Greens: Ruby Streaks and Scarlet Frills
Lettuce: Salanova mix
Radicchio: Indigo


Plans
About March 24  
Peas: Oregon Giant Snow Pea, Fragrantissima Sweet Pea
Swiss Chard: Bright Lights
Tomatoes: Sun Gold, Orange Blossom, New Girl, Taxi, Pozzano, Pink Beauty, Polish Linguisa,
     Black Vernissage, Chef's Choice Orange, Martha Washington, Carbon, Cherokee Purple,
     Opalka, True Black Brandywine, San Marzano Gigante 3, and Brandywine Suddoth's
     Strain

About March 31
Flowers: Klondyke Mix Yellow Cosmos, Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, Siberian Wallflower
Bok Choi: Win-Win
Broccoli: Diplomat, and Raab
Lettuce: Panisse

About April 10
Cilantro, Santo
Napa Cabbage: Mini Kisaku 50 and Minuet
Cucumbers: Max Pack, Salt and Pepper, Boothby's Blonde, Diva, and Corinto
Lettuce: Salanova Mix
Gourd: Large Swan Neck
Winter Squash: Sunshine Kabocha, Rouge Vif D'Etampes, Yokohama, Waltham Butternut,
     and Honey Bear Acorn
Kale Sprouts: Kaleidoscope Mix

Charley and Suzie waiting for dinner

Charley is my big 1.5 year old puppy. He's in front. Pretty little Suzie is in back. She's 4.

seed catalogs

I received the Adaptive Seeds catalog today. Excellent reading. It will keep me busy at least several days to read all the way through it. A few days ago I got FarmTek, Johnny’s Seeds, and McMurray‘s Hatchery. If reading catalogs brings the spring on sooner, I’m there.

today's harvest

Today's harvest is fresh endive, a Meyer lemon, and a couple eggs.

when to plant spring seeds

To time when I plant my seeds, I use an app that I’ve written. Skippy’s Vegetable planting calendar. We’ve been working on this for a few years and a new update is due out next month. This update makes the app retain settings and fills in some missing planting information and is free for any previously purchased apps.

I have about 100 vegetable varieties that I’ll plant this year. The app is a very simple way of planning when to plant vegetable seeds.

This year I entered info from all of my seeds package into an excel table. I entered time to harvest and planting date. I then sorted by planting date. This gives me a “calendar” for planting. But it doesn’t have any more information than my app except for corn where I want to plant two varieties and spread the planting dates to make sure they don’t cross-pollinate.

If you have suggestions for our app update, please leave a comment here and let me know.